美国国家公共电台 NPR A Mother-Daughter Bond: 'We Have One Heart, You And I'

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And that music means it is time for StoryCorps on this Friday before Mother's Day. Today, a daughter who wanted to thank her mom for not giving up on her. In 1972, Sarah Churchill gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Yomi. She was born with a rare genetic 1 disorder 2 that causes bones to break under the slightest pressure. Doctors said her future was grim.

Well, Yomi is about to celebrate her 45th birthday. At StoryCorps, her mom told her about the night she was born.

SARAH CHURCHILL: Your skull 3 was fractured, your arms, your ribs 4, your legs. And they said that you would probably during the night, so the best thing would be to leave you at the hospital. But there was no way that I was going to leave you there.

And they had a rocking chair. And I would sit there and hold you. And I remember our hearts touched each other. I used to always say we have one heart, you and I.

YOMI WRONG: So what was it like caring for me throughout the years?

CHURCHILL: Well, I remember giving you a bath. And you turned your arm, and I heard it.

WRONG: The bone snap?

CHURCHILL: Yeah. And you were crying. I'm crying.

WRONG: I used to keep track of my fractures but then they just got out of control. I would fall, or I remember one time one of my sisters dropped an orange on me and that broke something. I mean, you could look at me too hard and I would break. So I had my down periods, but I don't always have to articulate every single thing because you get it. You understand.

You know, one of my regrets is that I didn't have my own children. And I think one of the biggest desires for wanting to mother is to be able to carry on this legacy 5 of love that you started with me. You tell me often that you believe I picked you.

CHURCHILL: I think children come as a gift to their parent.

WRONG: I don't know if I've ever told you this, but I also feel like you picked me. If you had walked away and left me there when I was born, nobody would have looked askance.

CHURCHILL: But I felt that you were a part of me. So I knew that I made the right decision.

WRONG: And I've always admired you for that.

CHURCHILL: It was my honor.

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GREENE: Sarah Churchill interviewed by her daughter Yomi Wrong at StoryCorps in San Francisco. And Yomi currently works to make sure hospitals in Northern California are complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Their interview will be archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and also featured on the StoryCorps podcast.